Wraith and Love: End of Winter
by t.j.guard
Summary: Freed from their confinement to Storybrooke, the fairy tale characters would, under ordinary circumstances, think their ordeal over, but these aren't ordinary circumstances. It's now a matter of surviving the Black Forest and, when her wrath is incurred, conquering the queen of winter.
1. New Surroundings

Wraith and Love: End of Winter

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time. This ongoing series is mine, though.

New Surroundings

Regina blinked and tried to stand, to be stopped with her shoulders inches above the ground by pain in her torso. "What the hell happened to me?" she asked.

"You mean you..." Emma said.

Regina looked at her and furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about?"

"You got shot."

"Let me guess, by you."

"You charged me with a knife. I thought you were dead."

"Please." Regina held her hand over the first of her wounds, in the shoulder, and the bullet shot out of her and into her hand. She tossed it aside and moved on to the second wound, in her diaphragm, with the same result. Then she stood. "Now, where's this knife?" She took a step. Something shimmered in the light. After she dusted off the snow, she noticed the hilt of what used to be the Knife of the Dark One. The rest of the pieces were scattered about in the snow. "Guess there's no saving it."

Emma stood slowly and holstered her service weapon. "You don't remember anything that happened?"

"Not since I went looking for Rumpelstiltskin's knife, no."

"You've been crazy for weeks."

"There's a difference between crazy and desperate." She looked around at the black, bare trees. "Where are we?"

"Don't look at me."

"Did you say anything to me about mental help?"

"Y-yes."

Regina nodded. "Just checking."

"You seem different. Less crazy."

Regina turned toward Emma. "You know, I don't know what it is, but I feel...better." She turned toward the trees without a further explanation.

OUAT

The citizens of the Enchanted Forest stirred around Rumpelstiltskin. Regina was awake and having a civil, if brief, conversation with Emma Swan. Was it the destruction of the knife? It seemed to lose all influence, so was Cora...

He cut off the thought and looked down at Baelfire, still asleep across his chest, and smiled, stroking the boy's hair away from his face. "Good job, Bae," he whispered, maneuvering so that he could stand with his son in his arms. He turned in a slow circle, studying the trees and the clearing enclosed by them. The snow crunched underneath his feet. He didn't remember much snow in the Enchanted Forest, except some winters, and around the Dark Castle, which was nowhere in sight or sensing range. When he thought about it, he really couldn't feel anything, not even Regina or the fairies, who were undoubtedly close. He chewed his lip and looked down at Bae. Beautiful, brave, sleeping Bae. He smiled.

Bae shifted, and his head rolled to one side. Poor Bae. He must've been exhausted.

Morraine turned and walked over to him, picking up Bae's bow and arrow and reaching out to touch Bae's forehead. She hesitated, and then she touched him. Her fingers curled around strands of his hair. Bae's mouth twitched. She smiled. "He's so peaceful this way, as if nothing happened," she said.

"Yes, he is," Rumpelstiltskin whispered. "He is."

Rumpelstiltskin looked up and met Morraine's gaze. "I think I know what happened," she said in a voice meant only for him. "Jesse told me about her future, this world of ice." She cast her eyes about the clearing. "This could be what used to be Sherwood. The size of the clearing proper certainly fits."

"How long was she with you?"

"Three years, almost four before we escaped." She looked back down at him. "It's good that he's sleeping. He needs it." Rumpelstiltskin nodded. Morraine pulled her hand away and looked around. "Yes, it looks like Sherwood."

"You think that's where we are?"

"It's a theory."

"And what would be at the edge of this, beyond the Ring?"

"I've always thought it was on the border between the Enchanted Forest and the Black Forest." Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "But without the Ring and its effects, I can't say exactly. We could be anywhere, any time."

"Operating on the assumption that this is Sherwood, where exactly does this part of the forest end?"

Morraine pointed behind her. "The closest place is about a mile that way."

"Ah."

"Beyond that, though, I can't be sure."

Rumpelstiltskin turned in the direction Morraine indicated. Trees prevented him from seeing farther than a few feet, and it reminded him of the forests around Storybrooke. He nodded his thanks to Morraine and scanned the crowd for Jesse.

The Merry Men congregated between two thick trees, one of which split into two trunks some feet above their heads. August pulled himself out of a snow drift and shook a few flakes off himself before approaching Rumpelstiltskin. He looked down at Bae and asked, "Is he dead?"

"Asleep," Rumpelstiltskin replied.

August's shoulders sagged in relief, and then he looked around. "Any answers as to where we are, Mr. I-Know-Everything?"

Rumpelstiltskin tilted his head toward Morraine. "She believes we're in what used to be Sherwood."

"Okay, so she knows where we are and can help us get out of it."

"Basically yes."

August nodded. Morraine walked over to the other Merry Men, who, judging by their conversation, had reached the same conclusion she had. People had begun to wander about in confusion, so she let out a sharp whistle and yelled, "This way." She and the other Merry Men walked through the trees to the edge of Sherwood Forest as it was when it was enclosed by the Ring. The rest of the fairy tale characters promptly followed.


	2. First Leg of the Journey

First Leg of the Journey

Bae stirred and opened his eyes. Rumpelstiltskin released him, and they continued on their path. Bae rubbed his eyes and mumbled, "Have to wake up." He splashed snow onto his face.

"Are you alright?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"I feel like I've been trampled." He blinked and scanned the group as they walked through the forest, spotting Regina and Emma. He straightened his shoulders and looked at his father. "I gather that perhaps breaking the knife sent us here."

Rumpelstiltskin followed his son's gaze and nodded. "Perhaps." He looked back to their path. "Your friends have been kind enough to lead us at least to the edge of Sherwood Forest."

"It's certainly changed since the Ring broke."

After a moment, the elder looked at his son, his brow creased, and asked, "Can you feel anything?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can you feel any magic?"

Bae paused. That's what felt so different about this world. "No," he said softly, knitting his brow to match his father's. "Weird." He looked around at his surroundings and added, "I think this is what Jesse was talking about."

"When she mentioned the age of ice?"

"Yes."

"Hm."

Bae ducked under a limb, which felt cold and brittle to his touch. Unless I can get back to that other world, I'll have to find something decent to make a bow out of, or learn from Jesse how to use a knife, he mused. He studied the Merry Men in front of him and noticed that Morraine was leading them through the forest. Aside from his father, the citizens of Storybrooke trailed a few feet behind them. He rubbed his eyes again and began to calculate how long it would take to get to the edge of what used to be the Ring.

OUAT

Jesse took in the black trees and the snow all around, and then she looked up at the sky. In true Faery fashion, there was no way of knowing if it was really light or dark. All she had was a solid internal clock to guide her sleep-wake cycles. Morraine seemed puzzled by this but chose not to say anything on the matter, instead guiding herself by the trees. Jesse threw a glance at Tuck, who finally seemed truly relaxed, as if he were perfectly at home.

She shook her head. She had her deal with Rumpelstiltskin, and all she had to do was wait for him to call in his favor. Then she was in the clear. Anything else, she could handle.

If she could face the Black Forest that had certainly engulfed everything surrounding the bubble that was Sherwood. She turned so that she was walking backward and took in the crowd behind her. She had no way of knowing how each would fare individually in the horrorscape that likely lay beyond, but a quick survey revealed there might be some surprises in store. She turned back to the path they were taking. "Not much farther," Morraine said.

"For some of them, maybe," Jesse replied. "Others probably don't know shit about forests and have to trip over themselves six times in a minute."

Morraine laughed. "Yes, there is that."

"So, I heard you and Bae are hookin' up."

"As in becoming a couple?"

"Yup."

"We are, after a fashion."

"But you haven't been busy yet."

"Things proceed at their own pace. And he's such a gentleman about it."

Jesse nodded, smiling to herself. "I get it."

"I gather we're in your world."

"Seems to be the prevailing theory."

"And you're not going to comment on it."

"Nope."

"Well, I won't press you. It's your business."

"Thanks." They continued on in silence for some time, and then Jesse asked, "What now?"

They both ducked under a tree limb. "What makes you ask?" Morraine replied.

"Curiosity."

Morraine nodded. "Idle curiosity, I hope. We certainly don't want one of our best fighters to end up dead."

"Not with what's coming, that's for sure."

"So you know."

"More than I should, but hey, if that's what I need, that's what I need."

"For what?"

"Depends. Maybe for navigational purposes, maybe for tactical purposes. Depends on what Rumpelstiltskin asks for."

"You owe him a favor?"

"In exchange for my freedom. Seems fair to me."

"Alright," Morraine said, pursing her lips and looking askance at Jesse. Then they fell into silence and continued through the dense wood.


	3. Coming to the Edge

Coming to the Edge

Emma looked at Regina out of the corner of her eye for what had to be the fifteenth time. "Will you stop looking at me like that?" the latter snapped. "I'm not a terrorist."

"You're still a powerful witch and I have no idea if you're suddenly going to snap and kill us all," Emma replied. "Better safe than sorry."

Regina turned and moved so close to Emma that she could feel the queen's breath on her face. "If you don't stop playing it safe, you will be sorry."

"I doubt it."

Regina sneered and turned sharply away from her.

OUAT

"Hey, you're up," August said, making Bae jump and spin to face him. "You doin' okay?"

"I guess so," Bae replied, turning back toward the Merry Men. August fell into step beside him. "How's the snow for, well..."

"Not bad."

"Good, good."

"How're you feeling?"

"Like I've been trampled, but other than that I'm doing alright." August nodded and ducked under a tree branch. "Don't worry, they're everywhere at the edge of Sherwood. The trees are pleasantly wild here."

"When do they get unpleasantly wild?"

"The Black Forest, which may or may not be waiting for us."

"Oh, fun." Bae laughed dryly, fighting the knots in his gut. "Guess you're looking forward to this as much as I am."

"Imagine what Jesse's feeling right now."

"What is she feeling right now?"

"I can't imagine." They laughed. "But judging by her bearing and occasional glances about her, it must be dread, or perhaps paranoia."

"Where's she from again?"

"I never told you. I gather that whatever has become of the Enchanted Forest, the Black Forest, or both, it's her home, though. She's familiar with this, which makes her dread all the more frightening."

"Yeah, I can figure."

"You know, I may not have my knife anymore, but my threat does still stand," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"Dammit," August said with a smile. Bae erupted into a laughing fit, causing August to chuckle and Rumpelstiltskin to smile genuinely in spite of himself. "Just when you thought it was safe."

"Is it ever?" Bae asked when he recovered himself.

"Not with me around, it isn't," Rumpelstiltskin said, clapping both on the back. He snaked a hand around Bae's shoulder and squeezed gently. "So, you two better not be plotting anything. You know I'll know about it."

"I know."

Rumpelstiltskin let his arm fall. "Anything I should know about?"

"We were just discussing with each other our circumstances."

"Ah, I see."

"There isn't really much to be briefed about," August said. "We're wandering through a dead forest covered in snow and it's been this way for who knows how long, and we only know where we are within a couple miles. Beyond that..." August shrugged. "Any idea where we're gonna end up?"

"Well, without the Enchanted Forest in this world, our best guess is either the area remained vacant and magic-less, or the Black Forest took the opportunity to spread into the new vacancy. If you're asking my personal opinion, my guess is the latter," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"So what're we in for?" Bae asked.

"Depends on if the creatures will leave us alone."

OUAT

Morraine stopped and stooped over a patch in the snow, exposed by winds that drifted the snow around surrounding trees. She brushed away some of the remaining flakes to reveal a strip of soil, patches of dead grass on both sides of it. She looked over her shoulder and said, "We're here."

"Where?" one of the dwarfs asked.

"On the edge of the Black Forest," Jesse said, her eyes fixed on the trees beyond, shrouded in shadow and fog and blacker than the dead trees in Sherwood.


	4. First Attack

First Attack

The group congregated into an amoeboid mass at the edge of the ring, all sensing what lay beyond and none willing to venture beyond the remains of the Ring. Morraine and Bae moved together, lacing their hands together. Rumpelstiltskin stepped up to the Ring and wondered aloud why the Black Forest hadn't engulfed Sherwood yet. "If you're looking for someone to wager a guess, I'd say it's because of Sherwood's funky time schedule," Tuck said.

"It could be any-when it wanted to?" Emma asked.

"Basically. Or it was every-when at once."

"How's that possible?"

"Magic, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin said.

Emma shrugged. "Why the hell not?"

"We can't exactly be trapped in the remains of Sherwood for the rest of our lives," Bae said. "That sort of defeats our purpose."

"Bae has a point," Morraine added. "We'll have to keep going."

"Oh, joy," Emma muttered.

"Jesse, do you know this forest?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"Yes," Jesse said through her teeth. Immediately she knew where this was going.

"Could you do us a favor and-"

"Lead you through it?" She let out a heavy breath. "Okay, but only because you're the one asking."

"This is bad," Bae whispered to Morraine. She nodded to concur. Jesse took another shaky breath and stepped over the line in the grass that had marked the former edge of the Ring. With both feet planted firmly on the outside of Sherwood, she looked around as if waiting for something to come and eat her before disappearing into the darkness. After a moment, she released the breath.

"Follow me," she said. "Here's hoping you guys don't get eaten."

"By what?" Regina asked.

"Depends on what takes a liking to you."

OUAT

By some miracle, everyone had by degrees trusted Jesse enough to follow her into the shadowy forest. The Merry Men congregated at the front of the pack as a way of showing support for Jesse in this endeavor, and the others spread out behind them. Bae remained at Morraine's side as they wove through the long-dead underbrush, that all but crumbled on contact, and the brambles, which were much hardier.

Bae and Morraine tripped over a root, and they felt mud squishing around their shoes. "What is this ground made of?" she wondered.

"Not a clue," he replied. "Quite frankly, I'm not sure I want to find out." With that, they continued on.

OUAT

Regina and Emma walked side-by-side, Emma trying to gain answers as to Regina's newfound peace and Regina being as snappish in her replies as usual. The cold air suddenly shifted, and they turned at the same time. A shadow shot toward them over what they could see of the snow and the fog, and a gaping circular maw appeared out of the darkness. "Down!" Emma shouted, tackling Regina just as the mouth swooshed above them.

"What the hell is that thing?" Regina asked, staring at the giant worm's black underside.

"Not a clue, but we better move fast before it kills us. Come on." She pulled Regina to her feet, and by then the rest of the crowd had begun to watch what was taking place. Emma pulled Regina toward the front of the crowd as the thing opened its mouth again and let out an ear-piercing roar. The crowd began to scatter, rushing mostly forward. The beast lunged again, this time toward the Merry Men, and Bae and Rumpelstiltskin turned and stepped in front of it. The beast stopped. "Leave," Rumpelstiltskin said. The beast sized Rumpelstiltskin up for a moment that seemed, to Bae especially, to stretch out into eternity. Then it pulled up and flew over them in search of another hiding place.

"What was that?" Emma asked.

"That's an example of what could take a liking to you," Jesse said, not looking behind her. "We better keep moving, or more will follow." She walked off with the other Merry Men close behind her.

OUAT

Bae fell into step between August and Rumpelstiltskin and drifted close to his father, wondering aloud what connection there was between the Dark One and the Black Forest. August looked askance at Bae and then glanced at the Blue Fairy, flying throughout the crowd as if restless. She showed no reaction to the comment.

"People do listen to me, Bae," Rumpelstiltskin said nonchalantly in response to his son's comment.

"And beasts? Do I need to bring up the ogre?" Bae asked through his teeth. "And what was that thing? A giant worm?"

"Lamprey, actually."

"A giant magic lamprey. Alright, and how come I can't feel anything? I'd very much like to know when I'm about to be attacked by another giant flying magical beast. Or any magical beast, for that matter."

"That's a rather strange aspect to this situation, I admit," a voice said from behind them.


	5. Cheshire

Cheshire

Jefferson turned at the vaguely familiar voice and then looked around. "Where are you, cat?" he asked, his voice on the verge of annoyance. He hated his cat's antics, especially in dangerous and unpredictable situations.

"Right here, Jefferson," the cat said. Its voice came from the right of the group, up some ways. Even so, the cat remained painfully invisible. "It's a shame that you've run mad, otherwise your memory would be better."

"Show yourself."

Rumpelstiltskin held up a hand as if ready to restrain Jefferson. "Look who's turned coward now," the invisible cat said.

"Enough," Bae snapped. "There will be no talk of cowards, lest you risk being called one yourself."

"Ah, young Robin Hood. I've heard about you and your predecessors."

"So it's curious that we know so little about you, faceless fiend," Rumpelstiltskin said in a strangely sinister and musical fashion. This seemed to make the invisible cat acquiese, and he appeared, in all his purple and pink glory. A cheshire, Bae thought with a smile. A rare magical breed he'd only heard about in legends.

The cheshire leapt from the branch and trotted over to Jefferson before leaping into his arms. "At least you remember that," the cat said.

"That you're my impossible-to-reason-with cat? How could I forget?" Jefferson replied. The cheshire began licking his paw.

"What is he doing here?" Bae asked.

The cat stopped licking and fixed Bae with a slightly annoyed expression. "I'm here because you're in a situation you don't fully understand. You now lack your sensitivity, all of you, so you have to rely on your wits to survive, and even that might not help you when you get out of the forest."

"Why? What's out there?" a Merry Man asked.

"A land where air is ice, words mean more than deeds, and the only thing colder than the buildings is the hearts of the residents," Jesse replied. "Basically Hell has frozen over and transplanted itself in what remains of the Enchanted Forest."

The cat opened his eyes and straightened almost into a standing position, staring at Jesse. He blinked once or twice and then donned the grin that had made his breed famous. "The princess," he said, bowing his head. "It is an honor."

"Don't call me that."

"As you wish." He hopped out of Jefferson's arms and trotted over to Jesse before sitting. "Only one attack this far from where you started? You're doing well."

"Or this place is deserted. How did you get here, cat?"

"The same way I always do."

"Cheshires never seem to exist, not that I've heard," Rumpelstiltskin explained. "It's a strange property they have that makes itself known through the breed's ability evaporation and reappearance at will."

"Everybody knows that. What I want to know is how he got here if nobody can feel any magic," Jesse said.

"Lucky guess," the cat said, twitching and curling his tail around him. He looked from Jesse to Baelfire and Rumpelstiltskin. "How are you doing?"

"...Well, I think," Bae said, eyeing the cat cautiously.

"Good, good."

"Why do you care?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"We really should get going," Bae said. "I don't want another magic flying lamprey to find us again."

"Very much agreed," Jesse said, setting off with the Merry Men and then the rest of the denizens of the Enchanted Forest. The cheshire cat trotted for some time by Jefferson's side and then disappeared after bidding everyone a farewell.

"We'll see him again," Jefferson said.

OUAT

Jesse made sure their journey through the Black Forest was as fast as it could be. Morraine, Bae, August, and Rumpelstiltskin formed a loose line behind the rest of the Merry Men and several feet in front of Emma, Regina, the dwarves, Snow White, Prince Charming, and the others behind them. The cheshire cat returned occasionally, trotting by Jefferson's side for several paces before disappearing, only to reappear several paces later.

Jesse looked at the sky overhead. It remained as dark grey as ever, as if the Black Forest were covered in clouds that threatened rain. When she returned her attention to the path, she noticed dimly that the mist had cleared out, revealing black, fuzzy, moldy undergrowth. "Yuck," she muttered as her foot squished on what used to be moss, or, she hoped that was the case. "Somehow when you can see it, it's even more disgusting."

"Funny how that works, isn't it?" Tuck replied, maneuvering around a root and under a branch.

"I never liked the Black Forest."

"Who does? That's why they call it the Black Forest."

"Well, aren't we smart today?"

"I'm always smart."

"Smart enough to want to hang back and only do what you need to to get by." He gave her a playful shove and she responded with something not so playful, resulting in his impact with a tree trunk. She continued up the path without so much as a backward glance at Tuck.

"Do you really need to be so mean to me?" he asked.

"Maybe."

"They sound like great company," August said to Bae behind them, loud enough for them to hear.

"Yes, they do," Bae replied with a smile.

"Is there a conspiracy against me?" Tuck asked.

"Maybe," August replied.

"He's just easy to pick on," Jesse said.

"I can tell."

Bae chuckled and shook his head. Jesse and Tuck seemed to have a friendship stretching back before either entered Sherwood. He could relate.

The forest path was shrouded in mist again, though the squishing sounds didn't exactly make the journey any less gross, especially when now pretty much everyone knew what they were trodding through. Bae let out a breath and listened as they walked, trying to hear the lamprey beyond their footsteps. "Find anything?" Rumpelstiltskin asked softly after several moments of watching Bae seemingly lost in thought.

"No, but in the Black Forest, no news is not necessarily good news," Bae replied.

"An astute observation," the cheshire said, appearing at Rumpelstiltskin's feet. He curled his tail into a question mark. "Tell me what you're going to do when the lamprey returns."

"I'd ask you the same thing. All you seem to do is appear and disappear at random."

"This coming from the son of a coward."

Bae rushed the cheshire and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck before he could vanish. With the cat inches from his nose, Bae growled, "That's enough talk of cowardice out of you." The cheshire blinked, and after several moments of staring at Bae in shocked silence, Bae released the cat, who dropped to the ground and disappeared in the mist.

"Wow," Jefferson muttered.

Bae returned to his position in the line behind the Merry Men to an appreciative smile from Rumpelstiltskin and a flirtacious smile from Morraine. He returned both with a grin.


	6. At Camp

At Camp

"Okay, this looks like a safe place to camp for the night," Jesse said, gesturing to a snow-covered clearing much smaller than Sherwood. The group spread out through the clearing and gathered in separate clusters. Bae stayed close to Morraine, August, Rumpelstiltsin, and a couple other Merry Men. Jesse walked over to him after many of the others had fallen asleep and he had spent almost an hour leaning against a tree with his elbows on his knees. "Doin' alright?"

"Yeah, just been a long day," Bae replied.

Jesse nodded, and then she handed him a bow and an arrow. "Figure you're gonna need this back. M found it."

"Oh." Bae remembered the quiver on his back, and he blushed at his idiocy. "Thanks." He slipped the arrow into its quiver and then put the bow onto his back and then adjusted his position with respect to the tree.

"Sure thing."

"Are you dreading what's at the edge of the Black Forest?"

"Sort of. I'm dreading a certain who more."

"Ah."

"But hell, it can't be all bad. So far only a giant lamprey has attacked us, and we've been on the move for hours. Normally we'd be shredded, out of breath, and battleweary by now."

"This sounds like a fun place. I wonder where all the monsters went."

She shrugged. "The gods know."

"I just wonder why I don't."

"You can't feel them?"

"I can't feel anything."

Jesse nodded, her lips pursed. "The Black Forest is unpredictable. You could just as easily have been overwhelmed by the magic here."

"I guess it's good that I'm not, then."

"Yeah, it is."

"Did you explore the Black Forest is very much?"

"Yeah. That was part of how I found Sherwood. I don't regret ending up there, but it felt like a huge mistake for the first few days I was there, when I had time to think on it." She laughed. "Funny how the world works, ain't it?"

"Yes, it is funny." Bae remembered the light that brought them here in the first place and thought about the fact that Regina was still alive. Perhaps breaking the knife broke the curse. "The world is funny, indeed."

"Heard you wiped yourself out pretty bad with your sensitivity and putting it to use."

"Yes, I did, but it was for the best, so I have no regrets."

"That's the way to live life, right there."

"At least, the way to live life is not to dwell on one's regrets, as most people do have them."

"What if your regrets are the choices your parents made?"

"Join the club and carry on."

Jesse laughed, and Bae looked over at Morraine, who looked to be asleep but was breathing more shallowly than she would if she were. "I've got a question for you, Bae."

"Yes?"

"Do you believe in true love?"

"As in its ability to break every curse? Of course. I can feel those things, remember?"

"Yes, but what about it happening to you, magic or no?"

"Absolutely. Love is magic, plain and simple."

"Now I really wanna go back to the past."

"Is this world such that love is not magic?"

"Love doesn't exist at all, really, or she wants it not to."

"Who?"

"The woman waiting for us all at the end of this little excursion."

"Oh, she must be charming."

"Oh, yeah. You have no idea."

"How's her hospitality?"

"The best in all of the Nevernever."

Nevernever, Bae thought. The general term for the land beyond the Enchanted Forest, that included, in some contexts, the Black Forest. There were other names, such as Fae, Faerie, the variants thereof, and the beyond. Neverland was somewhere else entirely, though the two places were often confused. "We're in for it, then," he said. "This sounds like it'll be quite a trip."

"You have no idea," Jesse said again. They chuckled, and Bae fingered the arrows in his quiver. "You alright?"

"Right now. Why do you ask?"

"The lamprey's the start. I just wanna know if you're gonna be up to the rest the Black Forest has to offer."

"The service is excellent."

Jesse laughed. "I just hope I can get us all out of here."

"The lamprey obeyed Papa when he told it to leave. The ogre from the Black Forest that we encountered in Storybrooke obeyed Papa."

"I think I see where you're going with this."

"You think we're relatively safe?"

"Between my leadership and Rumpelstiltskin's presence, yeah," she nodded, "you could say that."

"Without my sensitivity, we have only that assessment to work with."

"Worried?"

"A little. I do want to know when something is laying in wait to rip my head off and suck out my guts."

"Don't we all?"

Bae half-smiled and looked at the group as a whole. "Use your good judgement, just like always."

"Got it."

"Then we're in good hands."

Jesse smiled.

OUAT

After some time, Bae lay on his back, his bow at his side, and stared up at the sky, which seemed not to have changed since they arrived in what used to be Sherwood. The rest of the camp seemed sound asleep, but since he'd gotten in his fair share earlier, he decided it was probably a good idea to keep some form of watch.

But the silence that had settled over the Black Forest at large was soothing. Not soothing enough to warrant complete relaxation, but soothing. Bae found himself listening to the edge of the forest and breathing deeply and staring at a near-black sky with his hands under his head.

The cheshire appeared somewhere above his head, which Bae didn't notice until the cat said, "Can't sleep?"

"I slept already. I've got a fair amount of energy," Bae replied.

"So what exactly were you up to to knock you out like that?"

"How do you know about that?"

"I am a cat."

Bae sighed. "I was given a task, a remarkably difficult one, and I managed to accomplish it."

"What sort of task?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I am a cat."

"I know you're a cat. Anyone with eyes can see that, and it doesn't explain anything."

"It explains everything."

"Whatever."

The cat licked his paw. Bae continued to stare at the sky. The cheshire finished his paw, walked around to where Bae could see him, and sat on the boy's chest, his tail curled around his legs. "You're quite young, for a Robin Hood."

"The one before me turned traitor and was killed shortly thereafter," Bae said as frankly as the cheshire had given his statement of his own species.

"Did you know the one before him?"

"No."

"And how did you become a Robin Hood?"

"By chance, I guess. Someone had to."

"I see."

"I think M and I are on the same level."

"Does the letter M refer to your girlfriend?" The cheshire gestured with his tail to Morraine, asleep some feet away on his left.

"Yes."

"Ah."

"So, if I may, how did you get here?"

"How did I find you all? Well, it's quite simple. I left Wonderland."

"Why?"

"Jefferson disappeared, and it wasn't like things were going too well there, politically speaking."

"You've a nonchalant attitude toward leaving. Has it happened a while ago?"

"Wonderland is like your Sherwood. Time moves differently there, but unlike Sherwood, one may come or go as one pleases, provided, of course, either one has the queen's approval or the queen's ignorance."

"Am I to presume you had the latter, given your propensity to appear and disappear at will and displace yourself while unseen?"

"Yes."

The cat curled his tail to his forepaws and licked its tip. "Anything out there I should know about?"

"Your lamprey friend is watching you, but too afraid to approach Rumpelstiltskin, for obvious reasons. Nothing else."

Bae opened his mouth to say 'thank you,' but the cheshire breed was notorious for twisting those words into placing someone in their debt, so he stopped himself. The cat continued his personal grooming without so much as looking at him. Bae turned his eyes toward the sky, ever just the same.


	7. Setting Out Again

Setting Out Again

Jesse peered through the forest, trying to keep track of her path and watching for a monster that couldn't wait any longer to make its presence known. The latter didn't happen, and she didn't seem to get lost, so she considered the start of that day's leg of the journey a good one.

Most of the people following her, so far as she could tell, were silent or only dared to talk in hushed tones. Perhaps they feared they would attract the attention of another flying lamprey or some such. Jesse smirked. The denizens of the Black Forest weren't that predictable. There was no way of knowing what they were doing or planning on doing, or if they were planning at all. One simply had to be ready at all times.

The cheshire kept appearing and disappearing throughout their walk through, well, whatever the mist concealed, which didn't seem to squish like half-rotted undergrowth. The cat didn't engage anyone in much more than idle chatter, if he engaged anyone at all, and spent some of his time lounging on dead tree limbs and grooming himself, sometimes keeping up the grooming as he moved from limb to limb in puffs of smoke, following the procession.

Jesse watched the cat carefully, making sure he didn't get too close to her. He called her princess, so he knew about her mother, but he didn't bring up the issue since the first meeting, so thus far, Jesse had accepted the cheshire's presence.

Tuck trotted up to her and asked, "Think I can crack a joke in a place like this, lighten things up a little?"

"The sensitive can't feel magic. If there is none, don't chance it," Jesse replied.

"Aww, come on."

"Tuck, don't."

"Okay, if you insist. You're missing out, though."

"If you try anything and there really is no magic to utilize, you'll risk your life, and if it's all for a joke, you could die for nothing."

"Always so serious." Jesse gave him a slug on the shoulder, which Tuck subsequently rubbed. "Okay, okay, I'll stop now."

"Good." Jesse looked over her shoulder at Rumpelstiltskin, August, Bae, and Morraine and then returned her attention to her path.

"Does this place ever end?"

"It should, in a few days, assuming we aren't-" Something shot through the air over their heads. "Attacked," Jesse finished in a small voice. She unsheathed her knives and looked up at the lamprey. "Shit. It's back."

Bae armed his bow and aimed at the head of the beast as it snaked its way back around. Its mouth was closed, giving Bae a clear view of its head. He fired, hitting it square between the eyes. It roared and squirmed about, threatening to take nearly everyone off their feet. Bae nocked another arrow and shot the lamprey in the side of the head. Jesse threw a knife, striking a point just to the side of Bae's second arrow. The lamprey shrieked and writhed as if struck with a branding iron. It struck several trees, knocking them level. Most of the group gathered some distance away from the scuffle.

Finally, the lamprey stopped its struggle. The knife had been shaken loose, at the cost of exacerbating the wound, which resembled a burn more than a cut, and fallen to one of the trees that had been knocked over. Jesse ran to grab it. Bae nocked yet another arrow and followed her to serve as backup. The eel moved toward her, and she slashed at it with her other knife, leaving another burn-like wound. "What are those knives made of?" Bae asked.

"Cold Iron," Jesse replied, plucking her knife from the trunk of the fallen tree. Her eyes were fixed on the lamprey, holding onto the last of its life before finally collapsing and breathing its last. Bae relaxed the string and put the arrow back into his quiver. As they walked back to the group, he put his bow back over his shoulder. "It's okay," Jesse called to the group in general. "Nothing to see here. Let's keep going." She returned to the path and proceeded. The others reluctantly followed.

OUAT

Faery lamprey, Bae thought as they set out. Cold Iron blades killed it with a total of two-count them, two-strokes. The arrows might've been inconsequential, if they did any damage at all. But Jesse knew this world far better than he did, so he trusted her judgement, and she did know how to take down the Black Forest's monsters, so far as he could tell. August had asked about what had happened, and Bae explained as curtly as possible with the expectation that he would ask a slew of questions afterward. When he didn't, Bae raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" August asked.

"I just thought you'd ask a lot of questions, is all," Bae replied.

"Well, it's pretty straightforward, especially the way you explained it."

"Oh, thank you."

"No problem, kid."

Bae smirked. Somehow, in this instance, it was comforting to be called 'kid.' He wasn't an adult yet, and someone, at least, didn't expect him to be. "Hey, maybe when we finish up here, we can go back over the bridge and finish our motorcycling lessons."

"Maybe."

"That'd be fun. I'm starting to miss it already."

August threw an arm around Bae's shoulders. "Look at it this way, kid. The sooner we get done here, the sooner we can go back."

"You read my mind."

August chuckled and ruffled Bae's hair, and Bae looked over his shoulder at Belle, slowly working her way toward them. Personally, he had nothing against the fact that Belle loved Rumpelstiltskin, but his mother had said those same three words, and Bae had lived with the result. He wasn't even sure what his mother looked like or what her voice sounded like. Sometimes he didn't remember having a mother at all. He'd merely grown up with a shaken father and no idea why it was so. His only hope with the relationship was that it would never happen again, whatever drove his parents apart the first time, but he just couldn't be absolutely sure. After all, Rumpelstiltskin had told her how she tried to break his curse, and that very well could be her reason.

He let out a heavy breath and rubbed his eyes. He shouldn't be thinking about these things, he knew, but he didn't want his father to get hurt, though how he could manage that he had no idea, since he was of the school that he really had no right to interfere in the affairs of others.

Bae had mentioned this to his father, but he didn't remmeber having an opportunity to fully discuss it. He decided that at the next available moment, he would correct this.

If he wasn't eaten by something first.

Something about the Black Forest seemed to force that thought to color every other one, but he didn't dwell on that fact very much, since it seemed a little too quiet.

Something about that was unnerving, too, but it would only last as long as it took to get out of there, Bae reminded himself. The forest was getting to him.

Bae looked from August to Rumpelstiltskin, who noticed shortly thereafter and smiled at him, and he reciprocated before looking at the path in front of him. Without warning, Rumpelstiltskin wrapped an arm around Bae's shoulders. "What was that for?" Bae asked.

Rumpelstiltskin laughed and ruffled Bae's hair. "Because you're my son," he replied.

Bae smirked and then drifted closer to his father. "There's something I'd like to discuss with you, on a serious level," he whispered.

"Alright."

"Are you sure about your relationship with Belle?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I don't want a repeat of...last time."

"Ah. Well, she is able to break my curse, and I know you felt it when she kissed me."

"But are you sure?"

Rumpelstiltskin closed his eyes and let out a breath. "No."

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"I know, Bae. I know."

"Love doesn't always last forever," Belle said from behind them, "but if you don't give it a chance, it never will."

Bae smiled at Belle, who, along with Rumpelstiltskin, smiled back. "Alright," Bae said with a curt nod. All three returned their attention to the Merry Men in front of them, and Bae drifted back over to August and Morraine.


	8. The Inn

The Inn

The cheshire watched the crowd drift through the Black Forest, putting their faith in the Ice Princess. He licked his paw, and they followed a path Jesse seemed to know well. He followed, sometimes invisible, sometimes visible, hardly ever touching his feet to what was beneath the mist. Whenever he wasn't grooming himself, he allowed himself to think about Jefferson.

That Hatter had really driven himself mad just to see Grace again. He spent all his time making hats just to travel out of Wonderland, albeit at the behest of the Queen of Hearts. The cat had met the hatter during one of these long days spent hatmaking, and between the chanting of how each hat had to work, he had overheard Jefferson mumbling about his daughter.

The only thing the Hatter didn't know about the situation was what happened to Grace after she returned to Wonderland and was trapped. The cat had decided to watch her for a bit, out of curiosity, and he found that Grace had slipped out of Wonderland with the help of the Hatter's friend, one March Hare, and has since vanished, so far as Hare was concerned. But the cheshire, being ever curious, followed Hare's path out past the hinterlands of Wonderland and into the wood between it and the Black Forest. From there, it was a matter of following her scent and keeping out of the sight of the wood's many beasts and the Black Forest's even more numerous collection of creatures.

He had been among the first to notice what had become of the Enchanted Forest after the curse. The snow was still wet, and it fell thickly. The snowflakes sung a song of rejoicing, as if they had been liberated from the realms beyond the wood, but this wasn't so. The cat could tell that immediately. He continued into this new world, to find a city of ice being formed. Already this realm's new ruler had prisoners.

The group decided to camp, and the cheshire nearly struck a tree before the news registered in his brain and he flipped onto his feet and trotted over to the group's new clearing. The Robin Hood had fallen asleep relatively quickly, alongside Rumpelstiltskin and two women whom the cheshire hadn't bothered to learn the names of. He turned his gaze to Jefferson, who noticed after a moment and walked over to her. "Oh, good, you noticed," the cat said.

Jefferson squatted and eyed the cat. "What do you want?"

"I've tracked your daughter." Jeffereson's eyes widened, and the cheshire grinned. "I take it you're interested?"

OUAT

Jesse kept one eye on Tuck and the other on the cheshire, who at the moment seemed to be doing nothing but grooming himself and discussing something with a man from Storybrooke. Jefferson, she guessed, from the cat's first arrival. He was the first to engage the cat, so he must know the cat, she reasoned.

Tuck was fast asleep, so she could focus on what was keeping them. After all, they looked like they had very important business to discuss. But she couldn't hear what they were saying, and after a moment, she realized she had no potent desire to. She turned her gaze toward the sky instead. The sky in the Black Forest was always dreary, but a different dreary than the one over her old home. There, the sky was nothing but white, just like everything else there, but here, the sky was a nice dark grey, perfectly befitting the forest itself and not subject to send down a blizzard or sleet storm just because the queen is angry. Jesse smirked at her own strangeness. There was no ruler in the Black Forest but the dead ones and the doppelgangers, who were only rulers in name and attitude.

Maybe if she was lucky, they wouldn't meet the doppelgangers, but the forest had a mind of it's own, and she had no power to persuade it against its plans, if it had any in the first place. She guessed even the forest had no idea what it was doing. Tomorrow they could walk through a trod to Timbuktu without her even noticing until too late.

At least the only monster that attacked them thus far was a giant lamprey that she and Bae had managed to kill. But that wasn't going to stop them from being ambushed by anything and everything just as they reached an inn at the edge of the forest.

Jesse glanced first at Tuck, still asleep, and then at Jefferson and the cheshire cat, who had just concluded their business and were parting ways. The cat vanished, and Jefferson lay down, another face at camp.

Jesse pondered the group she and the Merry Men had fallen in with. Each one had a story from the Golden Age, be it happy, sad, or bittersweet; they were all taken away in one fell swoop. This was long before she was born, but somehow she wondered if she had been party to it, irrational as the thought was.

And even if I did play a role in it, Jesse thought, now, I'm gonna fix it.

OUAT

Deep into the next day's leg of the journey, Jesse stopped the group and said, "Bae, Morraine, Tuck, come ahead with me."

Once the little subgroup assembled around Jesse, Bae asked, "What is it?"

Jesse peered into the forest. "Pretty wide clearing. May be an inn there, too."

"Is that a good or bad sign?"

"Usually it's good, but not always."

"Oh, how fun," Tuck said.

The four crept through the forest into the snow-covered clearing, three with arrows nocked and the fourth with her knives out.

Something snapped a few twigs off at least one of the dead trees. All four tunred in the sound's direction, ready to launch an attack if anything stepped out of the forest. For a long moment, all around was silent. By degrees, the party relaxed slightly and continued through the clearing to the building at its edge. "Just like Sherwood," Bae whispered.

"Yeah, but smaller," Tuck replied. "Creepy."

"So I'm not the only one with bad vibes about this place," Jesse added.

"If by that you mean the strange feeling I have in my stomach, then you're not the only one," Morraine replied.

"Okay, so it's all of us."

On that note, the four proceeded slowly toward the building at the edge of the clearing, armed to the teeth. After several heavy moments, Jesse put one of the knives back into its hilt and reached over to knock on the door of the building. When she recieved no answer, she eased the door open and held her knife in front of her as she entered, followed closely by the other three.

The building amounted to something of a small Bed and Breakfast in which all the furnishings were covered in a heavy layer of dust, and dust drifted through the air such that it seemed thoroughly mixed with the stuff. "An inn," Jesse whispered. "What luck."

The door slammed shut behind them.

OUAT

All four turned in slow circles, tense, coiled, and ready to attack. "Hello," an elderly woman said as she appeared behind the desk. "Can I help you?"

"This is an inn, right?" Jesse asked, turning toward the woman.

"Of course. You'll be perfectly safe from all those nasties here."

"We're the scouting party of a group of travelers, a group I fear too large to fit here. Is the clearing equally safe."

"Absolutely."

Jesse took a step back and pulled the other knife out of its hilt. "Excuse us for being armed, but we fear we might still be-"

"Under attack?" The woman's sweet, high-pitched tone took on a much more sinister quality, if that was even possible to the ears of the four young people. Then she lowered her hood, revealing her to be Ruby's grandmother, from the Bed and Breakfast in Storybrooke, except the fact that her eyes were black as pitch. With a wicked smile for effect and a flick of her wrist, she pinned the kids to various dusty furnishings; their weapons clattered to the floor.

Oh, shit, Jesse thought.


	9. Meet the Doppelgangers

Meet the Doppelgangers

Rumpelstiltskin all but stormed the door, magic sizzling under his skin. He hadn't used his power outright for years. He threw all he had at the door and shot backward, tumbling over himself in the air and slamming into a tree. Rumpelstiltskin collapsed in a heap, barely conscious.

"Screw this," Emma muttered, unholstering her service weapon. She approached the door and shot the lock. The door showed more signs of being burned than being shot. Weird, she thought, but with a shrug, she kicked the door open and entered the inn. "Put your hands where I can see them," she yelled, aiming at the woman, who looked up almost instantly. "Ruby's grandma?"

"Don't worry," Bae said from a piano bench. "We're pretty confused, too."

"It's a doppelganger," Jesse replied. "It only looks like Ruby's grandmother."

"So, what can it do?" Emma asked.

"No way of knowing. All doppelgangers are different."

"These young people came here seeking shelter," the woman said. "I can't fathom why on earth they're so nervous."

"Probably because your eyes are black. That's pretty off-putting," Emma replied.

"I've never noticed."

Emma raised her eyebrows even further and tensed her hands to keep them from shaking and inadvertently shooting the woman. What had she gotten herself into? "Look, just let the kids go and we'll leave you alone."

"They're free to go any time."

"Doesn't look like it."

She flicked her wrist again, and the kids relaxed, stood, and dusted themselves off. "You can't leave the doppelgangers," the woman said, and she disappeared into the dust. Emma turned to leave with the rest of the kids and then stopped cold.

"What is it?" Bae asked.

"Your dad's missing," Emma replied.

"What?" Bae rushed forward, past Emma, and looked at the dent in the snow that appeared to be the same size as his father.

"It took four minutes for me to get you guys free. How is he gone?"

"Doppelganger," Jesse replied. "Question is, which one."

"Let's go, before he goes too far," Bae said. The five set off across the clearing and into the woods, following Bae who followed the tracks indicating that Rumpelstiltskin may have been dragged off. It wasn't long before they spotted a cloaked form hauling off an unconscious body. "Hey," Bae yelled, running toward the form. "Hey." The form looked up and waved his hand, sending Bae flying. Bae flipped and then landed on his feet, sliding through the fog. He ran toward the figure again and slammed into it, tackling it to the ground and knocking the hood off, revealing a black-eyed Rumpelstiltskin. Bae nearly tripped over himself from the shock and desire to escape, costing him a valuable opportunity and allowing the doppelganger to stand and grab Bae about the throat and slam him against a tree.

Bae stared past the doppelganger at his father, still in a dazed, groaning heap amid the fog. "Papa," Bae whispered. The doppelganger tightened his grip on Bae's throat, eliciting a gasp. Rumpelstiltskin pushed himself up and looked over his shoulder. He mumbled a response to his son, took a deep breath, and, mustering his strength, kicked the doppelganger's knee against the tree trunk. The doppelganger cried out and released the boy, wheeling instead on his attacker. Bae looked on as the doppelganger reached for Rumpelstiltskin, only to be punched across the face and shoved against the tree.

"If you ever touch my son again, I will kill you," Rumpelstiltskin hissed.

"Will you?" the doppelganger asked, reaching for something on his belt. Rumpelstiltskin beat him to it and pressed a knife to his throat. He didn't bother to check which one it was.

"I will."

"Trust me, he will," Bae said. The doppelganger glared at him, and while Bae stared him down, in his peripheral vision, he spotted the doppelganger's knife-at his throat. That was something his father would never allow, he thought with a slight smile. "Papa, his knife," he said. Rumpelstiltskin pressed the blade deeper into his double's neck.

"You coward. Do you honestly think even your threatening me can be scary?" With a roar, Rumpelstiltskin drove the knife deep into the doppelganger's chest. Rumpelstiltskin gasped as he released the double and the knife at once, and watched as the form disintegrated into muck and disappeared into the fog.

"Oh, because that makes perfect sense," Emma muttered. "This world is so weird."

Rumpelstiltskin straightened, and Jesse, Tuck, Morraine, and Bae tightened into something of a knot. "Shall you lead us out of here?" Bae asked.

"I'd be happy to," Jesse replied.

OUAT

"What was that all about?" August asked. "Sounds like you had all the fun without me."

"It wasn't fun," Bae replied. "Believe me, you were better off where you stayed."

"Sounds good."

"Sounds like doppelgangers, and it was."

"This forest is weird."

"You have no idea."


	10. Saving Grace

Saving Grace

"This is going well," Tuck said. "You're doing a good job."

"It's going too well," Jesse replied. "This can't mean anything good."

"So what does it mean?"

"Either all the monsters in the Black Forest were killed by something much worse, or they're working for something much worse."

"And, what would this much worse something be?"

Jesse stopped at the edge of the forest and stared out over the white landscape and sky. An ice city spralwed out almost as far as the landscape reached. Tuck tried various means of detracting her attention, but Jesse merely shoved him away. The crowd fanned out around them, staring mostly in awe. "Is this another weird facet of this weird world?" Emma asked.

"Yes," Jesse replied.

"So, now what?"

"I don't know."

"Surely we have to proceed, right?" Bae asked.

Jesse took a shaky breath. "I never thought I'd see this," she whispered.

"This?"

"This place."

"The ice city?"

"Yeah."

Bae bit his lip and stared at the clear spires and the light glinting off their various surfaces. "Is this the Enchanted Forest?"

"Not so enchanted now, is it?"

"No."

She turned to Rumpelstiltskin. "I got you all through the Black Forest alive, but something tells me that's not the end of it."

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "It is if you want it to be. Technically you kept up your end of the deal."

"As to yours, it may be my choice to go to that city and fight through it."

"And that's your choice. It's out of the agreement completely."

"Just checking." She looked to Bae. "Do you have a plan?"

"I keep thinking we should camp here, but I'm not sure what's going to become of us because of it."

"Wait, you think we're gonna die?" Tuck asked.

"No. I have no idea what's going to happen. I merely hope that we're not noticed, but I doubt it."

"Actually, that's a pretty fair assessment," Jesse said, interrupting Tuck before he could utter another syllable.

"It doesn't seem like they've noticed us or care that we're here thusfar. How about we camp here and send a few ahead to see how we should proceed?"

"Sounds good to me," Tuck said.

"Agreed," Jesse added.

"Now," Bae said, "who should scout ahead?"

"I will, and I'll take Tuck with me."

"Will you need anyone else?"

"Not here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Bae, I'm sure."

Bae let out a heavy breath. "I worry too much."

"Yes, you do. If anything happens, we'll rush straight here and let you know, alright?"

"Alright."

OUAT

Jesse stole one last glance over her shoulder at the camp and then continued toward the city with Tuck in step beside her. "So," he said, "are we gonna kick some Snow Queen butt?"

"Not yet, Tuck," Jesse replied. "We're just scouting around, remember?"

"Damn. I really wanna spread around a little spring."

"She's gonna freeze you alive for that."

"So? I can get out of that."

"Tell that to her statuary."

"Would if I could, honey. Would if I could."

The two continued on in silence, both with eyes on the ice towering above them. Jesse bit her lip as she pondered Tuck's words on the statue garden; he had made her somewhat uneasy because of his offhand comments about the true state of the statuary in question. Tuck's words may have been true for him, but that was about all they were good for, in Jesse's opinion, unless he could direct the power to unfreeze others.

They moved moved directly to a side street Jesse knew led to the main road and thus, Mommy Dearest. She took a sharp breath and pulled Tuck into the nearest alley when a fey drew near. Once they were certain of safety, they continued to the main road and took it up to the tallest and iciest building in the entire city.

Amid the crowds, they were both more and less likely to be noticed. Jesse only hoped her reptuation had not preceded her, allowing them to go unobserved. She stopped him after a point and directed him to an entrance at the corner of the castle, which fey were moving in and out of en masse. "Stay close," she mouthed. He nodded, and with that, they approached the entrance and slipped inside. Then she pulled him into an alcove and leaned against the wall, remembering the biting chill of her childhood and then shoving the memory back into the abyss. Now was not the time to reminisce. Now was the time to reconnoiter.

She tapped Tuck's shoulder and nodded to give the all-clear. They slipped down the hallway and then out to the courtyard. Tuck began to wander the paths, staring at the ice sculptures, and Jesse grabbed his sleeve before what she saw in front of her made her stop short. The statue in question was a little girl, roughly pre-teen, blonde with blue eyes, and screaming. Jesse's heart shattered in her chest. She remembered this girl.

Grace had been taken here by the queen's minions. She continually asked to see her father, or for asylum from Wonderland, or whatever else her ramblings revealed about what she was running from or to. Jesse couldn't keep track; Grace's mouth moved too fast. The queen smirked, as if mildly amused, and then froze her.

And the girl's father was in the party waiting for their report at camp.

"Jesse! Jesse," Tuck yelled, shaking his partner out of her thoughts.

"Huh, what?" Jesse asked.

"What happened to you? Did you get put in a trance or something?"

"That girl...Tuck, get back."

He took only one step back, watching her warily as she maneuvered onto the platform and placed her hands on the frozen girl's face. Jesse took a deep breath and called up power she hadn't used in years. After several moments, she felt as if she were floating, but her focus was on the girl encased in ice.

The ice cracked and then shattered, and the girl sank onto her back, gasping and spluttering. Jesse moved to pick her up, but someone cleared their throat behind her. She turned slowly, and then she felt as if she'd frozen over. "Mother Dearest," she hissed.

"No kisses?" the woman asked. "Shame."

"What's a shame is the fact that you mercilessly freeze people alive, simply because it pleases you. You're absolutely sadistic."

"You've gone soft. Where have you been all this time?"

The woman scoffed when Jesse refused to answer and was about to turn on her heel when she looked over her shoulder. "Where are you taking my trophy?"

"You'll never know."

"Why, oh why, are you so insolent?"

"Tuck, now."

Tuck turned toward the woman and drew on his own inner power. Jesse took his arm in hers, maneuvering around Grace, and they threw their combined power out into the world almost indiscriminately. The woman flew backward and landed in a bench on the far side of the garden. "Let's go."

They beat a hasty retreat out of the courtyard.

OUAT

"We have a problem," Jesse said, laying the girl on the snow. Grace was gasping and coughing still. "Actually, we have several. She needs water and herbs, and I accidentally attracted the attention of our most favorite fairy queen ever, so we're pretty much going to march to our deaths one way or the other. And she saw me tag-teaming with Tuck, which could lead to both of our unspeakable fates if we don't find a way out of this, and then there are the other statues to consider."

Doc and Jefferson were already trying to supply Grace with a healing mixture, leaving everyone else to stare at Jesse and Tuck in varying degrees of terror, confusion, and eager interest. Emma stepped forward and asked, "How much time do we have?"

"No way of knowing for certain, but don't get your hopes up."

"If we're going to die," Baelfire said, stepping forward, "then why not die fighting?"

"Well, it will probably get you killed," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"This is no laughing matter," Jesse snapped. After a deep breath, she continued: "We can't rush her on her own turf, and we can't leave Grace unattended. We could lure her into the Black Forest, but she might have power there, too. But we have to get her out of the castle so we," she gestured to Tuck and herself, "can unfreeze the others."

"Others?" Bae asked.

"She has an impressive and rather repulsive collection."

"Yikes," Grumpy said.

"Yeah, we're in agreement there."

"So how do we lure her out?" Bae asked.

Jesse took a breath. "That's the hard part. She hates me, but I need to be in the courtyard to help unfreeze people. Unless..." She turned her gaze to Rumpelstiltskin, and he knit his brow. "Yes, I'm thinking what you think I'm thinking. The question is, can you do it?"

"Me?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"Yes, you."

"Well, who do you want me to look like?"

"Me."

"I'll...see what I can do." For a moment, he disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, reappearing as a near perfect duplicate of Jesse. "How do I look?" he asked in a perfect impression of her voice.

"I...I...Damn."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Just plain gods-damned creepy."

"What she means is, you two are so alike it's strange to her," Bae said.

"Ah. Well then, I guess this will do."

"Good luck. She's probably pretty dazed right now, so who knows where this will go next."

"Never know unless you try." With an impish grin, Rumpelstiltskin-as-Jesse disappeared in another puff of smoke.

Jesse looked down at Grace, who at least had stopped coughing, and asked, "How is she?"

"Her throat's probably shredded, and that will have to heal, so she'll be unable to talk for a while, but she'll survive," Doc said. "What exactly happened to her?"

"Frozen alive and magically kept that way." Jefferson shot to his feet and wheeled on Jesse, and she lay a hand on his chest and said, "We're working on it."

He took a deep breath and nodded mutely.


	11. The Great Escape and its Aftermath

The Great Escape and its Aftermath

Tuck chewed his lips, staring at the ice city that stretched out over his field of vision, searching the scene for any sign of Rumpelstiltskin. Picturing him as Jesse almost made him shudder, so if that image popped up in his mind, he surpressed it at once. It was just too weird to ponder, even for a second.

White light flashed at the edge of the city, moving as if skipping across the snow. It was headed in their direction, so either the ploy worked, or it failed miserably. The light skipped over them, so Tuck looked over his shoulder and called for Jesse. She rushed over to him and tugged him along back toward the city. "You know what you're doing, right?" he asked.

"Absolutely," she replied.

He took a deep breath and followed her through a trod at the base of one of the walls of an ice building. They walked out into the courtyard. "Alright," she said. "Let's get to it." She took his hand, and then they started to breathe at the same time. Their power pulsed together with their breathing. "Now," she whispered.

They squeezed each other's hands. Energy shot through the statue garden. Tuck sank shortly thereafter, almost pulling Jesse down with him. She looked across the garden at the statues. The ice around them had severely cracked. A little more magical pressure and the ice would go. She smirked and sent more of her energy out. Ice shards littered the ground, and over a hundred people sank, coughing, spluttering, and trying to breathe, no matter how painful it was. "We can get you all out of here," Jesse said. "Just follow us." They all looked at her. "It's okay," she said. "I won't freeze you again, and I won't let her, either. Just please, come with us and we'll take you to safety."

Tuck stared up at her with an expression that clearly asked if she was certain about this, and she nodded to him. Then she looked at the eclectic mix of the queen's former statuary. "It's alright," she said. "We'll talke you away from here."

"Really?" a man asked in a raspy voice. Jesse figured he must not have been there long.

"Yes, really." The man gestured for the others to follow him. Jesse helped Tuck to his feet and led the group through the trod to the outside of the city. Tuck and Jesse scanned the sky for the white light indicating the queen's presence or any sign indicating Rumpelstiltskin's, but the only sign of life they got was the camp just outside the city. In fact, it looked as if several people were watching their progress. Tuck moved to wave to them, but Jesse stopped her. "Don't draw too much attention to yourself."

"Why not? We all stick out like a giant moving sore thumb," he replied.

"But the more attention you draw to yourself, the more likely you are to be singled out, having the rest of us watch as you...well, whatever she chooses to do to you."

"Ah, I can take it."

"I'm sure you can, Tuck, but if you die trying, I don't wanna be one of the ones to watch."

"Are you in love?"

"Don't make me hurt you."

"Aww, come on. You know you wanna say it." Jesse gave Tuck a less-than-playful slug on the shoulder. He stumbled to the side, and when he recovered himself, she was several steps ahead of him.

OUAT

Baelfire turned his gaze from the approaching cluster of people and toward the forest from which the campers had recently emerged. He couldn't see hide or hair or ray of light from the thing that just moved through the trees. There was no sign of his father, either, but he had more faith in his father than anyone else.

After several moments, he turned back toward the group, now much closer than before. He could easily count a hundred souls. "Doc," he said, "I've a feeling you're going to be busy."

"Me, too," Doc replied. "Can I enlist a few of your guys to help us dwarves out?"

"You'll have to ask them."

Jesse reached them first. "See anything on your end?" she asked Baelfire.

"No," he replied. "I take it you all got out relatively well. Is this everyone?"

"Yup, her entire collection of victims of perverse torture. Think they'll all get the help they need?"

"It'll take a while, but yes. Doc asked if some of the Merry Men could be enlisted to help out with the wounded."

"I will. I don't know how many others will, though."

"I will."

"If you're looking for a volunteer, I'm in," Morraine said.

"Fantastic, that should be plenty," Doc said. "Let's get to work."

OUAT

The moon was well past its zenith when the three Merry Men and Seven Dwarves finished tending the hundred thirteen wounded and settled amid the camp. The dwarves fell asleep almost immediately, leaving the Merry Men awake. Morraine and Bae leaned into each other, with Jesse looking on with a smile on her face.

"Can we accurately assume the day went well?" Bae asked.

"Yes, you can," Jesse replied. "I'm sure the Snow Bitch won't be pleased about it, but I am."

"That's what matters."

"Good, because I have a very bad feeling this is all gonna go straight to hell before we can wish for pixie dust."

Morraine smiled. "Praytell, Jesse, what will we do with pixie dust?"

Jesse shrugged. "Anything, I guess. Fly. That's what most people do with that stuff, once they get their hands on some."

"No one goes insane and tries to kill everyone they come into contact with to gain more power or some such?" Bae asked.

"A few do. They're contained, though, before the magic goes wrong. Usually the magic does it itself."

"That's convenient," Morraine said.

"Less work for us fair folk."

"Excuse me?" Bae asked.

"Nothing."

"Actually, I think we'd both like you to elaborate on that line," Morraine said.

Jesse sighed. "What do I have to lose, right? I'm a halfie."


	12. Isolated Inn

Isolated Inn

"Half of what?" Bae asked.

"Have a human father and a fey mother," Jesse said. "Pretty sure dear old Dad's long dead, though, and he forgot about me long before, so it doesn't really matter. The part that does matter is that I'm part fey and I was raised here."

"So you being part human gives you a conscience and control over your capricious fey nature," Morraine said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure how that works."

"And it seems to put you at odds with your mother."

"Yeah, that seems to be the root of it."

"She's going to find out about her missing statues," Bae said. "We'll probably need to arm ourselves."

"For that you'll need Cold Iron...well, anything. Hell, even a crow bar will work."

"And where on earth in a fey city will we find any of that lying around?" Morraine asked.

"You're not." Bae and Morraine glanced at each other. "In a fey city, you can't find Cold Iron anywhere. Nobody will bring the stuff in, and they won't have their human pets bring it in, either."

"So where can we find it?" Morraine asked.

"An inn."

"The one we just went to tried to kill us," Bae said.

"Its keeper tried to kill us, but there are other inns around the edge of the Black Forest. They're all over, in fact. There should be one not too far from here."

"Where the keeper won't try to kill us?"

"Where there is no keeper. It's more like a trans-dimensional warehouse. It's one of the places where lost stuff goes when it's truly lost."

"How do we get there?" Morraine asked.

"You have to follow someone who knows where to look for it."

"Do you?" Bae asked.

"I've tried that several times, but I haven't found it."

"So who can?"

"Cheshire," Jesse called to the sky. The cat appeared shortly thereafter, sitting in her lap and licking one of his forepaws.

When he finished grooming, he looked up at her and said, "Yes?"

"You owe me a favor."

"Ah, yes. What do you need?"

"We need to find the abandoned inn."

"The one nearby?"

"Yes."

The cat hopped off of Jesse's lap and said, "This way, if you please," before setting off along the edge of the forest. Jesse, Bae, and Morraine followed. The walk was short, only a few hundred feet, but the roots of the trees and the fog and snow covering them made for tricky steps. Jesse was about to rib the cheshire for making it look so easy, but before she could say anything, he merely said, "I am a cat."

"This has to be the only time this explains anything," Bae said. "Cats are widely known for their agility."

"Baelfire," Jesse said, "shut up."

"I'm trying to help you here." The cheshire flicked his tail, what Bae hoped was a gesture of approval.

"Yeah, whatever."

"I had no idea we had time for bickering," Morraine said, causing the three humans, herself included, to burst into laughter.

The cheshire sneezed and looked over his shoulder at them. "Now, stay close to me, and don't let your antics distract you. This is a very tricky entrance, and I want you to pay attention, especially you, Jesse. I want you to remember this, in case the Queen of Hearts decides to lop off my head and I have to flee the Enchanted Forest for parts unknown. We're about to find your warehouse, so watch closely." The cat walked off the roots to a small, snow-covered path, and disappeared.

"Stay close to me," Jesse said, stepping toward the spot where the cat disappeared. Soon, she was gone, too. Bae and Morraine exchanged a look, nodded to each other, and followed, side by side.

Bae felt, for the first time, the barrier surrounding the inn, clearly a magical object. He sank to his knees, closing his eyes and pressing his hands to his temples. "Are you alright?" Morraine asked, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"I feel magic," he whispered, "for the first time since we got here."

The cheshire looked over his shoulder from the porch of the somewhat run-down building. "Are you two coming?"

"We're right behind you," Morraine replied, helping Bae to his feet.

"The sensitive is feeling magic again?"

"Yes," Bae replied. They walked to the porch, and Jesse opened the door and stepped aside for them. Bae sat on a chair in what used to be a lobby, and he began to study the items surrounding him. Most of them were hinges, pieces of cars (so Bae guessed), nails, sewing needles, and other such items. "Of course," he said. "You hide what is most fatal to fey in the place where only a few can reach it. That way they can pretend it doesn't exist and anyone who knows about it would be unlikely to join a resistance, given their small numbers. Very tactically sound."

"It's nice to know someone appreciates it," the cheshire said.

Jesse sighed and bowed her head. Morraine busied herself with examining various items strewn about the floor before selecting a crow bar and a rusted pipe. Jesse did the same, picking out a pipe of her own as a weapon, and Bae selected out of the pile a rusted butcher's knife. "Alright, now what?"

"Now we hide our weapons and lie in wait for an opportunity to use them," Jesse said.

OUAT

Bae, Morraine, and Jesse returned to camp just in time to see Rumpelstiltskin appear out of a puff of smoke. He sank to his knees and shook his head. "Papa?" Bae whispered.

"Yes, Bae?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, looking up.

"Is everything alright?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, the Snow Queen was chasing you earlier."

"Nothing I can't handle."

"Are you sure?"

Rumpelstiltskin nodded and then stood and cleared his throat. "Are you well?"

"Yes."

"Good, good." He looked around the camp.

"Is she close?" Jesse asked.

"She will be, soon."

"How soon?"

"As soon as she realizes magic can't be felt in the Black Forest. Or here, for that matter."

Bae wanted to say something about the inn, but ultimately he decided against it, slipping his iron weapon behind the tree with the others. He glanced at the cheshire just as he disappeared, and then he looked at Morraine and Jesse, who had both settled down in front of the tree to sleep. Rumpelstiltskin sat at the base of another tree, and Bae settled down next to him. "Everything's going to be just fine," Rumpelstiltskin whispered.

"I've no doubt of that," Bae replied.

"So what do you doubt?"

"How do you know I doubt anything?"

"It's just a guess. I've been vague lately."

"I'd guess the Black Forest affects magic in general, since I can't feel anything and your visions are vague."

"Perhaps."

"Everything's fine, Papa."

"I should hope so, Bae."

Bae lay his hand on his father's arm. "Papa, you're worrying too much. Everything's going to be fine. With any luck, soon this whole thing will be over."

"You think so?"

"Yes."

Rumpelstiltskin smiled and looked at his boy, who had closed his eyes and shifted his position. He stared across the camp at the ice city and then shut his eyes.


	13. Fallen Snow

Fallen Snow

Jesse stirred to wakefulness as some of the sun's light began to filter above the horizon. She peered through the trees and grabbed a weapon from the hiding place. "Okay, Snow Bitch, if you want it, come and take it," she said in a low voice.

For several long moments, the only thing to happen was that the sun began to inch over the horizon and shed light on the forest, the snow, and the low-lying fog. Jesse straightened and looked at both Baelfire and Morraine, contemplating waking one, or both, of them. She scanned the rest of the camp, though she was certain she was the only one awake.

A series of low growls came from the Black Forest. That's where all the creatures went, she thought, turning toward the sounds. The sheer expanse of sounds indicated that she was outnumbered. She shook Bae and Morraine awake and told them to arm themselves, which they did. "What's going on?" Bae asked.

"Not sure," Jesse replied. "Think we're about to be ambushed."

"By what?" Morraine asked.

"The creatures that were missing from the Black Forest when we passed through it."

"What do we do?"

"We're outnumbered, so we wake the others and try to leave, or fight them off with numbers, knives, and pickaxes."

"Is that our plan?" Bae asked.

"Unless you have a better one."

Bae and Morraine exchanged glances and shook their heads. Bae said, "Not on hand."

"Then let's go."

All three kept constant watch on the unseen beasts at the edge of the forest as they moved through their camp, waking the others. Jesse told them to arm themselves however they were able and even provided suggestions for those that appeared to have no suitable weapon. Emma took the opportunity to draw her service pistol and check the clip to see that it was adequately loaded. Several Merry Men nocked arrows in their bows and aimed at the forest. Bae spared a moment to think on the sight of his father preparing to use magic before redirecting his eyes to the forest.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Emma asked.

"We're being watched," Jesse replied.

"By what?"

"They were waiting for us and watching us, not missing like we previously thought."

"What?"

"A bunch of Black Forest beasts. Get it through your head," Regina snapped.

"Well, this sounds like fun."

"So what's our plan, geniuses in charge?"

"If they don't appear soon, we try to leave," Jesse said.

"And if they do?" Emma asked.

"We fight."

The sounds of the creatures shifted closer to the camp. Charming drew his sword, and upon hearing the sound, a lamprey shot out of the trees with its mouth wide open. He held the sword aloft and leaned slightly on it as the lamprey came into contact with it. Its flesh burned, and it writhed in pain, but eventually it squirmed free, with a gash running down a good part of its length, the edges burned. It doubled back, and others of its kind flew out of the forest. "Do whatever you can," Bae and Jesse yelled at the same time.

As the lampreys flew encircled them overhead, all manner of other beasts stepped into view: ogres like the one found in Regina's mental ward, doppelgangers twisted into sick personages of evil and malice, creatures no one in the camp had names for. In front of all of them was a flickering white light. Dammit, Jesse told herself. Figures that's what she would do. The light assumed the form of a white-clad woman with skin made of ice and eyes even colder. Jesse couldn't help but let out a laugh dry as paper.

The woman stepped forward and grabbed Jesse's chin, forcing the latter's gaze upward. With a growl, Jesse drove the pipe in her hand through the woman's wrist. She let out a cry and shot back, the signal for the beasts to storm the camp.

Arrows whizzed by Bae's head. The dwarves, Charming, and Snow charged the doppelgangers swinging pickaxes, a sword, and a dagger, respectively. Emma fired several careful shots, wounding an ogre in as many places. "Go for the throat," Jesse called over her shoulder, clearly at Emma. Emma fired another shot, which ripped through the ogre's throat and caused it to collapse and dissolve into the fog. "Cool," she said to herself before turning to the next threat.

Baelfire looked at the pipe in his hand and, with careful aim, threw it at a lamprey, who swallowed it almost on accident and shortly thereafter fell to the ground, crushing several ogres, doppelgangers, and others beneath its bulk. He heard someone mutter about how convenient it was, but he paid little attention as he nocked an arrow and aimed at an ogre's neck. He loosed the arrow without any trouble.

"Hmm, this is going to be trickier than I thought," the ice woman muttered. She grabbed Jesse with her uninjured hand and tried to disappear. Jesse turned out of her mother's grasp and dealt her another blow with the pipe, this one to the head. The woman stumbled to the side and glared at Jesse, ready to snarl again before recieving another blow. Her pale skin was beginning to show very marked burns. "You think that's enough to kill me?" she hissed.

"No," Jesse replied, "but maybe it doesn't need to be."

The woman lunged for Jesse, to be struck a fourth time by the pipe, and then shoved her into the trunk of a tree. Winded and dazed, Jesse watched as the woman approached Emma and asked what she was doing there, with her collection and several others who weren't supposed to be there.

"You know what?" Emma said. "I don't know why I'm here, but I am. Your statues, on the other hand, are probably very glad they're here. And breathing."

"Surely you don't want to remember them as they were?"

"If you wanna do that, then take a picture. Don't freeze someone alive."

"Of course. You're human. You know nothing of such things as what this world has to offer."

"I've learned plenty."

"Really? Do enlighten me."

Emma and Jesse glanced at each other for the barest moment, and at the same moment that Jesse rushed forward with the pipe, Emma pistol-whipped the woman across the temple. Jesse thrust the pipe into the woman's back and released it. The woman staggered and tried to turn toward Jesse, but she collapsed before she could get anywhere. Her eyes were glassy, and her breaths were slow and ragged. Jesse and Emma both stepped back and watched. The woman's breathing slowed even further and became increasingly shallow. Her arms moved lethargically to the pipe, but she hadn't been able to reach it before a strangled gasp escaped her and a final spasm rocked her body.

Jesse blinked and stared at the woman who had shaped the course of her life and caused her to meet the Merry Men, creating the four greatest years of her life. Because of her mother, Jesse was the young woman and Merry Man she was. She was at a complete loss for words, watching the Snow Queen slowly fade into nothing. Jesse figured this was because the woman was the topic of her thoughts at the moment, and possibly Emma's, too, but Jesse couldn't be certain.

Jesse began to prepare herself for what would happen as soon as the Snow Queen fully disappeared, and when it did happen, she closed her eyes at just the right moment.

OUAT

For the second time Bae could remember during his dimension-traveling career, he caught a brief glimpse of light and sank to the ground in weariness. All he wanted was to go home and figure out the last few months of his life just so he could put it all behind him with only a nominal degree of confusion.

His eyes fluttered closed, and he heard, off in the distance, his father whisper his name. He vaguely felt a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't register it, nor did he feel the need or desire to register it. Suddenly, he wanted to sleep for the rest of eternity, but he knew such a thing would be physically impossible without the aid of magic, and he'd had quite enough of that directly affecting his life.

By now, Bae had begun to resign himself to the fact that he may never be truly going home again, but he had his father, Morraine, and the Merry Men. He began to think he could patch his life back together, and then he finally stopped thinking. His mind was too heavy, and he just wanted to rest, even if he had no idea when or where he'd wake up.

"Just a little while more," he mumbled, and exhaustion took over.


	14. Epilogue

Epilogue

Bae leaned on the balcony, staring out over the valley and chewing his lip. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and, if he strained his ears, he could hear the songbirds in the forest below. It was strange to him to think that it had been only a few months since the Enchanted Forest was restored to what it used to be, just a moment after the curse was enacted. It was as if the Snow Queen never introduced eternal winter. His father could offer no reasonable explanation, and the Blue Fairy, who was called to a meeting with the royal family and the rest of the war council, was of the opinion that breaking the curse could be done either through true love or the death of the caster. With the experience taken into account, Bae decided that that was how it worked in that case.

According to Rumpelstiltskin, it made a certain degree of sense, and while all the particulars didn't make sense to him, it was enough for Baelfire. Besides, a bright, sunny, magical Enchanted Forest was much more familiar to him than the barren, magic-less one he had come from a few months prior.

The magic of the Enchanted Forest was at perfectly normal levels, but having been unable to feel magic for some time, even such a small length as it was, he spent several days fighting the headache the sudden onslaught of magic caused him. During that time, he spent most of his time in the room his father kept for him, taking comfort in only a few visitors: Morraine, his father, and a few other Merry Men.

But that was months ago. Bae decided there was no point in thinking on it any longer.

He studied the forest, knowing there were other Merry Men out there. Taking recruits had become a full-time occupation since the nine of them had had the time to take it up, and for many of the original nine, it was a favorite occupation, next to conning noblemen for all they were worth and returning exhorbitant taxes to the villages they had come from. Bae smirked. The Charmings had very mixed feelings about the band: on the one hand, they were happy someone was keeping those in power in check, but on the other, the band were a bunch of thieves and therefore operating illegally. It had become a quandary of some legal scholars, and something about that filled Bae with pride.

He leaned even farther forward, folding his arms over the railing. The breeze brushed his hair out of his eyes, but other than that, the magical world was at peace. And in some ways, it was both home and not home. He had no idea of the when, but the where was pefectly comfortable to him. He smiled and straightened, and then he turned back to the room.

It was almost exactly like his old room back in the village, a long time ago. Rumpelstiltskin clearly had the greatest attention to detail, and it seemed he wanted to give Bae the best home possible.

Morraine breezed through the door, interrupting Bae's musings. "We've a mission," she said.

"Which nobleman are we going after this time?" Bae asked.

"Two: a baron and his brother on the frontlands."

"What are we running them for?"

"Fifty percent of what they charged as taxes for the past six months. It's quite an impressive racket, and it's amazing the royals don't know about it."

"Take it they're only recieving what they ask for, then."

"And the brothers are skimming the rest."

"When do we head out?"

"We await your orders, Robin Hood," Morraine said with a smile.

Bae reciprocated before he spoke. "In that case, let's head out before they can keep this up." He followed Morraine out the door and onto their next mission.


End file.
